Asia has recently emerged as a top-tier destination for overseas Alternative Trading Systems (ATS), driven by the surge in retail investors—such as Korea’s “Seohak Ants”—venturing into U.S. and global equities. U.S.-based ATS providers are paying close attention to the rapidly growing number of Korean investors in the “Mi-jang” (U.S. market). Among these, Blue Ocean has established itself as the primary ATS used by Korean brokerage firms to facilitate daytime trading of U.S. stocks.
During a recent visit to Korea, Brian Hyndman, CEO of Blue Ocean, sat down for an interview with Aju Business Daily on February 26. “We are the only overseas exchange with an official office in Korea,” Hyndman emphasized. “Seoul, in particular, serves as the hub for Blue Ocean’s Asia strategy.”
Hyndman explained the shifting dynamics of their market share: “Two years ago, Korea accounted for 65% of our business. As our global volume has expanded, that figure now stands at approximately 35%, but it remains overwhelmingly the largest scale within the Asian region.”
Blue Ocean is the ATS that pioneered overnight trading in the United States. Since its launch in 2016, the platform enabled daytime trading of U.S. stocks to meet the demands of Asian investors. It was first introduced to the Korean market in 2022 through Samsung Securities. Within just two years, it has partnered with nearly every Korean brokerage offering U.S. stock daytime trading, effectively becoming the industry’s standard platform.
As demand for overnight trading grows across Asia, several other overseas exchanges are knocking on Korea’s door. However, Hyndman expressed confidence that Blue Ocean’s leadership remains unchallenged. Currently, Blue Ocean facilitates trading from over 30 countries, processing an average daily volume (ADV) of 130 million shares, valued at approximately $3.5 billion. Compared to the 30 million shares handled just a year ago, the market has seen explosive growth.
“The era where news only breaks at 9:00 AM is over,” Hyndman noted. “Whether it’s a post on social media from a president or a geopolitical event over the weekend, investors want to manage their risk immediately. Blue Ocean is the platform that makes this possible.”
Hyndman also detailed the company’s regional expansion: “Following our offices in Tokyo and Seoul, we plan to open an official office in Hong Kong next month. In Seoul, we already have two local staff members providing overnight support, and we have also stationed operational personnel from our U.S. headquarters here.” He added, “There are limits to managing operations from the U.S., thousands of miles away. Direct support from local Korean personnel is paramount. If I could start over, I would have implemented this from day one.”
Following a series of order errors caused by IT issues two years ago, Korean brokerages signed backup contracts with other U.S. exchanges. However, Hyndman noted that Blue Ocean still commands the vast majority of actual trading volume. “In August 2024, we significantly improved system stability by adopting ‘MAMAX,’ an industrial-grade trading technology,” he emphasized. “We recently processed a volume of 250 million shares and $10 billion in a single day, which utilized only 5% of our total system capacity.”
Regarding the structural changes in global markets—such as 24-hour trading and shortened settlement cycles—Hyndman highlighted the pivotal role of Alternative Trading Systems. “The reason ATSs exist is to experiment with and pioneer new markets,” he said. “Once a business model is proven, traditional exchanges either enter the space, or we grow to become an exchange ourselves.”
He specifically pointed to “flexibility” as the greatest advantage of an ATS. “We were the first to create the overnight market because there was a need for it, and we can move quickly on projects like tokenization. In contrast, traditional exchanges face regulatory constraints that limit their speed.”
Leveraging this flexibility, Blue Ocean is also leading the way in “tokenization.” In collaboration with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Blue Ocean plans to tokenize U.S. National Market System (NMS) stocks starting in mid-2026.
“If an investor opts for tokenization at the order stage, clearing and settlement will proceed via traditional methods, after which the DTCC will tokenize the asset and store it in a dedicated wallet,” Hyndman explained. “Our ultimate goal is to establish a 365-day trading environment that includes weekends.” He added that Blue Ocean is currently the only ATS collaborating with the DTCC on this project.
When asked about the purpose of his visit, Hyndman stated, “I came to personally express my gratitude to our Korean customers, who represent 35% of our business.” He concluded by saying, “I am grateful to the Korean investors and brokerage firms who have been with us. We have invested heavily for our Korean clients and look forward to growing together in the future.”
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